I've never had a DM try to use an intimidation skill against me without some sort of concrete mechanic to back it up, such as older editions with feats that had effects contingent on Intimidate checks or the like.
That said, situational. I might well portray being intimidated.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) June 3, 2021
It’s just that it’s in the NPC stat block, you are expected to use it? No, it can be to give an idea on how to roleplay the creature. Or it might have need to use that on other monsters/NPCs to see how they react.
Charisma skills aren't for forcing PC action.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) June 3, 2021
You can present it as “this person/monster is very scary,” just as you can say “And this noble with +11 Persuasion made an impressively compelling argument,” but it’s still up to the player to decide how that actually lands and if it sways their character. I get that, (using to reinforce the NPCs character)
but at the same time, it's a stat, a stat that is recommending that the NPC uses it— Andreas Walters (@andreas_mwg) June 3, 2021
That’s the thing, like, some of these social stats maybe shouldn’t be codified on a block, and rather the enemies description should describe their overall attitude and social “presence”. Just thinking out loud.It's definitely a debate worth having, and I go back and forth. My current attitude is "If there's room in the layout for a social skill, and it speaks to the monster's deal, add it."
Because the truth is many people only ever see the stat block and not the narrative text.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) June 3, 2021
I also consider it a miss if the narrative says the monster is/does X, but the stat block doesn't reflect that in some way.
— Dan Dillon (@Dan_Dillon_1) June 3, 2021